Live Review: YACHT at Vera Project 8/14

Jona Bechtolt and Claire Evans, the dynamic duo that is YACHT, took center stage promptly at 9:30 to a feverishly excited all ages crowd at the Vera Project on Friday night.

Bechtolt and Evans frolic and caper the stage like the Y2K scare of 1999 all over again, all the while keeping in time with their absurdly catchy beats. With Bechtolt decked out in an all white suit and Evans in a simple black dress and high top converse, the two clearly appeared to complement each other. Their live show is a spectacle to behold and always leaves one remarkably impressed with the duos ability to maintain tenure under such physical exertion. Evans and Bechtolt have developed an undeniably close connection (or at least play it off as such incredibly well) with their audience — a staple of YACHT’s show usually involves the two hopping into the crowd and touching their fans.

Midway through YACHT’s set, Bechtolt paused to share a couple of slides with the audience, one of which included a mailing address for the band (at which prompted Bechtolt to urge fans to send in whatever fan mail they felt so inclined). Slideshows have been a center point of the band’s live show for a while now, and I always find them to be a rare and comical treat in the realm of live music.

Bechtolt and Evans ended the night on a high note, per usual, and it appeared to me that the crowd of people that had come out to dance had truly had their fill for the night. In the true nature of fan appreciation, I spotted the couple later selling merch outside the room. YACHT’s sheer and electric energy on stage translated into a kind and gracious demeanor off, and I can only imagine in a world of people too afraid to dance outside the comforts of their own bedrooms that this act will carry people a long way.